Tootfinder

My plans to hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing were derailed by two days of rain and high winds, so we made a plan B: the Tama lakes track, which has somewhat less exposure but still gets up over 1400m. We’re lucky we didn’t try Tongariro given how tough the conditions were at Tama lakes – driving snow and winds on the ridge. But we were rewarded with good views and improving weather on the return trip. #hiking

Filing: Oracle signed ~$150B of data center leases in the three months ending November 30, raising its total data center and cloud capacity commitments to $248B (Martin Peers/The Information)
https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/o

Oracle Strikes $150 Billion of Data Center Leases in November Quarter
Oracle struck about $150 billion worth of lease commitments on data centers in the three months ending November, it revealed in securities filing late last week, a sign it is preparing for the cloud deals that customers such as OpenAI have struck with Oracle. The filing showed that as of Nov. 30, Oracle had $248 billion of lease commitments “substantially all related to data centers and cloud

2026 is being celebrated by Toho as Mothra Year, as this year marks both 65 years since Mothra first appeared on screen, and also 30 years since the Heisei-era Mothra trilogy.
Mothra's my girl (my wife knows, and she's okay with it). 😍
https://godzilla.com/blogs/news…

And you don't need to accept the trap of authoritarian masculinity on logic alone, the proof is right there in male influencers like Andrew Tate and their followers. These dipshits get so obsessed with gatekeeping they don't realize that the gates they're tending keep them in, that the more walls they put up to protect their privilege, the smaller their identity can be. They huddle in tiny pens, terrified of crossing imaginary bounds that they imposed *on themselves.*
They have built their own torture chambers and locked themselves inside, and for what? They turn themselves into dragons, hoarding what they see as valuable while repressing every emotion including joy. And if they let themselves experience joy, they would, perhaps, realize that all these privileges are inconsistent with it. They might, perhaps, recognize that they have built up these privileges so they don't have to admit that their suffering and fear are not, in fact, admirable. They might have to face the fact that they have lived lives that are deeply pathetic, might have to face the fact that only empathy can give one access to deep satisfaction, might have to face the fact that they have lived their whole lives on a treadmill, going nowhere.
But I assume that they won't ever do that, because to do so would force them to face the enormity of the emotional debt, the pain and suffering they have inflicted on the world, and those are big feelings. It's far easier to hide in a hole, forever alone, making up silly rules to keep everyone inside scared and keep everyone outside from seeing in.

Rewatching Tron (and then Legacy) to prepare for Ares.
What an absolutely remarkable film. It somehow completely still holds up. They've done a nice job on the remaster, so it looks fresh. It's incredible how the ingenuity of the filmmaking means it doesn't look dated, and is still a compelling world. I can't imagine how much painstaking compositing work this took…
#film <…

As Trump threatens Iran, Venezuela, Mexico, Greenland and more,
renowned historian Alfred McCoy says the United States is
“an empire in decline,”
following a predictable pattern
of militarism abroad and political instability at home
as it loses power and influence on the world stage.
“American politics become increasingly contorted and irrational,”
says McCoy.
“I think the thing to do is to realize that we are an empire in decline, …
…

“Empire in Decline”: Historian Alfred McCoy on U.S. Aggression in Venezuela, Iran & Beyond
As President Trump threatens Iran, Venezuela, Mexico, Greenland and more, renowned historian Alfred McCoy says the United States is “an empire in decline,” following a predictable pattern of militarism abroad and political instability at home as it loses power and influence on the world stage. “American politics become increasingly contorted and irrational,” says McCoy. “I think the thing to do is to realize that we are an empire in decline, … and it will continue for another decade…

Aerial view flying eastward into a frozen #Minneapolis, #Minnesota. Lake Minnetonka with its many bays, plus other lakes and the western suburbs.

Why Computation Can Simulate the Past, but Never Generate the Living Present
The Zoetrope of Logic: Why Programs Live in Frozen Time
https://www.ocrampal.com/the-zoetrope-of-logic-why-programs-live-in-frozen-time/

The Zoetrope of Logic: Why Programs Live in Frozen Time
Why Computation Can Simulate the Past, but Never Generate the Living Present The Illusion of Time in Software When you watch a video game character run across a screen, witness a real-time stock ticker update, or see a physics simulation unfold, you're experiencing what appears to be continuous, flowing time.

Interviews with copywriters on generative AI's impact: job losses to AI, work used for training, falling wages and rates, freelancers losing clients, and more (Brian Merchant/Blood in the Machine)
https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/i-was-forced-to-use-ai-until-the

"I was forced to use AI until the day I was laid off." Copywriters reveal how AI has decimated their industry
Copywriters were one of the first to have their jobs targeted by AI firms. These are their stories, three years into the AI era.

Judge Laughs Aloud at #TSA
Court outburst came as agency pursues $48m fine on #SouthwestAirlines for not handling gov mandated Transportation Safety Administration fees on passenger tickets to agency liking.
The $48 Million Fine was demanded of

Judge Laughs at TSA as Southwest Fights $48 Million Fine for Keeping Passenger Fees
A Fifth Circuit judge openly laughed when the TSA argued it isn’t set up to refund millions of passengers—while defending a $48 million penalty against Southwest for allegedly failing to return the same security fees. The case tests whether an airline has to cut cash refunds for government fees when travel credits expire unused.